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Friday, October 28, 2011

I’m excited to welcome author Iris Deorre to the blog today. Her stories involve erotic vampires, werewolves, faires and even zombies. Iris started to write when she was seventeen. At the time it was a form of escapism. By the time she hit her twenties she was writing short stories and got one published in a women’s magazine. She went on to write short plays but after meeting a well-known author who taught a writers class her focus changed to Erotica. Her love for paranormal is what makes her combine the two. Iris resides in the UK with her little girl.
Find out more about Iris here: http://irisdeorre.blogspot.com/

Iris, tell us a little about your newest release, The Whitby Ghost.
Roy has a past he'd rather forget. To overcome it he takes his girlfriend Melisa to Whitby, the very place of his past that he is trying to forget. Roy believes it's the only way to move on and to forget it by moving on with his future, Melisa.But something is lurking in Whitby, something that Melisa becomes sensitive to the minute they arrive. What she discovers is hard to swallow. What follows is a journey to the other side. Something she'd rather forget.

Will Melisa marry her boyfriend who refuses to talk about his past? Or will his past bring them closer?
Thanks for having me today.

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Last night I finished my edits for Backfire Southwest Shifters:3, a MM romance about a wolf-shifter on the run from an abusive alpha.

I figured I'd check my email before I got all comfy to watch Dancing With the Stars. I was glad I did because the new cover for Spitfire Southwest Shifters: 2 was in the inbox. You can see it above. I love it. Thank you to cover artist Jinger Heaston.

I'm not sure of the exact release date yet, I know it's next month and I'll post the date when I get it. Here's a little sneak peek.

Brady and Cade are already lovers, but each wolf-shifter has his mind set on making a certain she-wolf his mate. Ayala cares for her Lycan lovers, and she enjoys being submissive in bed, but she wants more out of life than taking care of two dominating wolves.

Birkenstock-wearing glamour girl and mother of two by immaculate conception, Daisy Harris still isn’t sure if she writes erotica. Her paranormal romances start out innocently enough. However, her characters behave like complete sluts. Much to Miss Harris’s dismay, the sex tends to get completely out of hand.

If you like sci-fi, great plots and red-hot chemistry, you’ll love Daisy’s books.

Hello Gale and thanks for having me on the blog today. I’ve decided to talk a little bit about how I make my sex scenes pop. As an erotica writer, I struggle daily with finding new and exciting ways to say “thrust.” So here’s a few things that have helped me along the way…

When I first started writing erotic romance, I found love scenes to be the easiest part to write. I’d been a medical writer for many years and was used to describing the workings of bodies. Movement and reaction didn’t scare me, but feelings did. So my early love scenes staggered like a wino between clinical and porny.

Amusingly, I discussed this with Angela James at Romance Times Booklovers’ convention last year and she said that one of her authors used to have the same problem. A nurse, the author focused too much on the physical and not enough on the emotion. So I think the problem comes with the territory.

The key to writing hot sex, I’ve found, is striking a balance between action, thoughts and feelings. In love scenes, the character should react to stimulus, then think, then feel, and then finally act.

As a contrast, this is what that passage would look like without the thoughts and feelings.

He skimmed a single finger over my nipple. I arched my back.

The latter might not read so horribly in isolation, but imagine a whole page full of “he did this,” “I did that.” “Then he did…” It would get so boring you’d be flipping pages to skip the sex scenes. And if you’re skipping the sex, you’re defeating the purpose of reading erotica. LOL.

Not every passage works precisely with this formula, but I’ve gotta say that it keeps me honest! Whenever I read one of my love scene drafts and think, “Gosh, this is moving too fast. It’s too choppy,” I go through the steps and find where I need to infuse the scene with a little more love. J

The other thing that spices up love scenes is the unexpected. I adore adding humor to love scenes! A little snark, or disagreement, or a shirt getting caught in a fly can add that zing of flavor that brings sex to life. Is there anything more endearing than a hero who shoves his pants to his ankles only to realize he forgot to take off his shoes? I think not!

What about you? What makes a love scene great from your perspective?

Studenstein (Book two in the Love-Bots series)

Blurb:

A man built for sex… A woman who wants more…

Freedom fighter Shani Brown is determined to drag the ungrateful Royce back to her team in Seattle. Despite his denial of mistreatment, she wants to give him a chance at a better life. Due to her horrific past as an unlicensed love-bot, Shani never plans to have sex again. But Royce’s makers punish him remotely with crippling pain. His only escape is to orgasm. Never one to turn her back on a job, Shani soon finds herself servicing him—and soon after, caring for him.

Love-bot Royce Harden wasn’t looking to be rescued, especially not from the San Francisco BDSM club where he was having a perfectly good time. But rescued he was—by a hellcat bent on delivering him to her people. As Royce starts to trust Shani, he begins to dream of freedom. But freedom comes with a price. Royce must face his vanity, his makers, and even the loss of his sexual upgrades if he’s going to be the man Shani deserves.

EXCERPT

Shaniqua! You stop thinking about that boy’s butt right this second! Shani didn’t know where that voice in her head came from, since she’d never had a mother in her undead life. But yeah, that voice in her head, her “superego” Frank called it, always called her by her full name.

So as she led Royce around the outside of the building, Shani focused on the quiet ticks of birds, the rustle of leaves, anything to take her mind of those little dimples that had shown right below his hipbones, or his deep and intriguing groan. As they walked, Shani calculated their distance from the van. Q-ter’s transmitter would only block Royce’s signal within one city block. The bathrooms weren’t all that far away, but Shani wasn’t accustomed to greenery and open space. Without urban landmarks, she didn’t trust her sense of distance.

His biceps flexed under her grip—not pulling away, but maybe trying to warn her he could. Shani’d touched Royce more in the past few hours than she’d touched any man since her captivity. She wanted to think it was because the assignment demanded she lead him about—gripping his firm upper arm—in case he tried to escape, but that voice in her head knew better.

Shaniqua! Let go of the boy-toy! In the dark, his skin felt warm and hard in her hand. It was a relief when she blinked in the bright halogen lights of the ladies’ room. No matter how pretty or tempting Royce Harden might be, Shani would never be able to stomach having sex again. And almost but not doing would be worse than never having tried at all.

I have two new releases this month and they’re both doing pretty good – a big thank you to all my readers! Hellfire is # 20 on Bookstrand’s Top 100 and Kade and the Captives is # 5 on Silver’s Top 10. Kade is doing okay on Amazon as well, but two readers left two completely different reviews – a five-star and a one-star. Both reviewers have followed the series and have valid reasons for their ratings. I can’t argue with that. I’ve always believed that you can’t please everyone. People have widely different tastes. You have to write the story the way it unfolds in your head and hope like hell that you please the majority of your readers.

Then I went to Goodreads to leave a five-star review for a book I recently read and enjoyed. I noticed a wide disparity of ratings and being curious now, I looked a few to see if there were comments along with them. Most of them didn’t have any so I looked at a few of the reviewers’ pages to see what genres they read most. I was thinking the low ratings could be for books outside of their usual preferences.

I found a reviewer, who shall remain nameless, who’d read over 400 books from paranormal to YA to classics to cookbooks. It appeared that 90% of them were one-star reviews with no comments. Could this person have made that many bad choices? Or is something else going on here?

And aren’t reviews supposed to be about the content? I’ve seen one-star reviews given based on the condition of the book (mail-order) or the price.

Is it okay to use a review as a protest tool? Are people giving ratings to books they haven’t read? What do you think?

Thursday, October 20, 2011

My guest today is Rachel Leigh. Rachel lives in the UK and has been married to her own sexy hero for thirteen years. With two novellas contracted with The Wild Rose Press, Rachel is busy writing her third which involves a pro-bono lawyer and a chef, set in Greece.

And now, here’s Rachel…

Lost love is something we have all experienced at some time or another.

It may not have been a great love affair but at sometime we all feel that rejection or loss of knowing that someone we potentially could have loved has now gone. Maybe it was you who ended the relationship because you could see no future, or the involvement with that person would have been detrimental to someone else you love or even to yourself.

When I started writing “Coming Back”, it began with hearing a piece of dialogue from the heroine, Kelly Hampton, in my head. The line of dialogue had nothing to do with lost love but I immediately knew that would be the story’s theme.

The line of dialogue was, “From now on I am going celibate.”

Hmm… what made her think/say this? Where did such a decision come from? As I write erotic romance, this thought needed to have some connection to love, hurt, pain or a feeling of something loss with little chance of rediscovery. Why? So I could write Kelly’s Happy Ever After, of course ;)

Once I started writing “Coming Back” the story flowed fairly easily because I tapped into my own feelings of lost love and what I would do if that person suddenly reappeared in my life.

At this point, I should stress I am glad I finished the relationship in question having been happily married to my sexy hero for the last thirteen years! ;)

As writers we need to delve deep and really remember the emotions we have felt in the past and present in order to make our characters real and even better, memorable. So when Kelly puts up the shield against her returning lost love, Sean Mackenzie, I filled every part of me with the same shock, hurt, desire and love I might feel if I was thrown into the same position. Especially because, in Kelly’s case, that lost love didn’t betray her, physically hurt her or even lie to her – he just disappeared.

You can be angry when someone walks out without as much as a goodbye, but what if they come back and beg you to listen to the reason why? Wouldn’t you want to know??

“Coming Back” is Rachel’s latest release and it is available right now from The Wild Rose Press. Here’s the blurb:

Kelly Hampton loved once...and lost. After two years of looking for Sean MacKenzie in other men--and failing miserably--she takes a vow of celibacy. No sex until she finds love. Then Sean strolls back into her bar, reigniting old flames. No one has come close to understanding or satisfying her like he did. Her body burns for the passion they once shared, but her heart still remembers the pain.

Sean escaped Jessop Hill and his father's fists in the middle of the night without a word--even to his love, Kelly--to protect his battered mother, but he never forgot the explosively erotic relationship he left behind. Now his father is dead and Sean is back for the only woman he's ever wanted. Their reunion is full of fire – but can sexual attraction and noble intentions overcome years of heartache or will Kelly walk away to protect her heart this time.

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

I usually read long novels that I get really involved in, but sometimes I just want a quick, entertaining story that I can devour while I wait for an oil change or my turn in the dentist’s chair. I won a copy of Room Number Twelve by Rebecca Leigh in a giveaway and I read it while I waited for a train. Talk about a hot flash. The other commuters gave me funny looks when I started fanning myself. Rebecca packs a big punch in a short erotic read - a sizzling slice of vampire sex. Yummy! I wanted more, more, more.

In today’s world attention spans are getting shorter and people have less time for reading. If you’re looking for a quick hot read, Room Number Twelve, fits the bill.

Blurb:

Two male vampire cowboys come together in a bar as strangers but leave as lovers.

Donovan and Rod are two vampires who like to role-play. Friday night is cowboy night, and the two meet as strangers at the Warehouse on Sixth Street. In familiar room number twelve, their erotic encounter includes the mutual exchange of blood and ends with a promise of more to come.

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Rebel Ink Press has re-released this very popular Erotic Romance so if you missed it before, grab a copy now. It's a great read.

Blurb:

Target: Libby Calhoun. She’s independent and strong-willed, the daughter of a near infamous Marine Corps sniper. Libby’s been raised by the resident housekeeper, has learned to take care of herself over the years and doesn’t take crap off anyone. She’s also sassy and pretty darn cute. After one failed marriage she’s not in the market for love, a husband or any semblance of children. One night of hot sex should do it but that pesky situation with her father is making that near impossible.

Security Agent: Chase Wayland. He’s not looking for love either but his golden-eyes sure can lure a girl in. Chase is a former Marine turned owner of his own security firm. He also has a failed marriage under his belt and trust isn’t in his vocabulary. There’s only one way in Chase’s world and that’s his way, whether anyone else agrees or not. Can these two live under the same roof after the incident? Chase seems to think so, as long as they ignore each other, play by his strict 'business only' policy and he makes Libby hate him. Libby thinks so, too, but she wants to do things her way. And her way means Chase’s resolve to be a good guy will be stretched to its limits, especially when she takes to the town in her red boots…

Excerpt:Securing a couple of drinks from Kandy as the noise picked back up, Chase headed for the door through which Libby fled. He located her lying on top of a picnic table, one hand on her forehead, the other dangling beside her with her legs swinging off one end. The moon’s beams acted like a spotlight pointing her out. If he hadn’t been grounded in the present, he’d have thought he stepped through a portal straight into a Shakespearean moment in time.

"Well, I suppose the question of whether or not to expect a lurking husband to chase my ass out of town in the morning has been addressed. Do you take to winged flight like that often?" Chase was completely taken by how stunning Libby looked laying there bathed in moonlight although he thought she looked a little on the skinny side now that he contemplated it. Hell, working two jobs would probably do that to a woman.

"No, I’m not married. As you heard, that was the ex. And as far as flying, around here just about anything is possible," Libby managed over a cynical laugh.

"A cheater. No further explanation needed as to why he's the ex," Chase said.

"You’d be surprised." She rose from the table to sit with her legs still dangling.

"I’m sorry about all that. Life is never dull around here, that’s for sure."

Handing her one of the glasses, Chase wondered if he could somehow rekindle the fire he’d been stoking until Daniel so conveniently doused it with ice water.

"You want to talk about it? The part I'd be surprised by I mean?" He propped one booted foot up on one of the benches flanking the table.

"Not particularly. Let’s try talking about you a while." Turning up her drink, Libby took such a long draw Chase wondered if she’d stop before it was empty. "You never did confirm my suspicion about whether you’re from Texas or not."

"As a matter of fact, I am. It is that obvious? Or have you seen so many people come and go you just pick up on all their quirks and accents after a while?" He imagined she’d seen it all at one time or other.

"Some of both I guess." She crossed her legs and tucked them up under her leaning her elbows on her knees. "I learned a lot from my father about reading people."

"Ah, yes, the man eating marine."

"Marine he is through and through. Semper Fi! Do or Die! Ooh-rah! Ooh-rah!" Libby’s drill instructor voice made Chase smile. "Of course you know the drill.

You were a marine at one time, weren’t you?"

Chase’s jaw twitched at the mention of the possibility. He could've gone a lifetime without that nerve being struck. Finishing her drink in one gulp, Libby set her glass down and sighed.

"Is that a hint, lady?" he asked honestly, alarmed at her ability to nearly inhale her alcohol.

"If you’re asking if I’m trying to get drunk, the answer is yes."

Chase ran a finger down her jaw crooking it under her chin, raising her face to look her in the eyes. Then dropping his hand and setting his glass down, he moved closer. His legs brushed hers and he placed his palms on her thighs.

"Are you going to tell me what it is you’re hoping your friend Jack is going to chase away tonight?" he prompted, kneading her legs.

"Believe me, it isn’t as interesting as you probably think." Libby’s eyes danced with heat and Chase’s cock jumped at the subtle acknowledgement. "I’m exhausted. I never thought at my age a person could be so damn tired. I’m just trying to take the edge off enough to sleep."

He moved one hand to the back of her head and ran his fingers through the curls hanging there. Twisting them around his fingers, Chase drew her in and stared into eyes filled with want and need as he took her lips under his with force. He teased their pliancy, nibbling first the top one then the bottom. Just when he thought she’d stopped breathing, he pried them apart and thrust his tongue inside, flirting with hers.

Chase’s heart pounded as Libby moved her hands to his chest welcoming his assault. Then he broke away as quickly as he’d engaged her. At some point he placed his hands on either side of her head and looked into her eyes again, searching. Planting one last gentle kiss on her forehead, he sighed.

"Sweetheart, believe me, I can show you much more pleasurable ways of inducing sleep than old Jack can," Chase told her, tracing her lower lip with one thumb.

"Well then, I really think I should warn you. You have no idea who you’re dealing with."

Sunday, October 16, 2011

Writing has taken a backseat to techy stuff lately. My Dell laptop got foobarred somehow and my Windows 7 updates were not loading – eighty-two of them. I quick saved my files and loaded them on the old laptop.

Then I contacted Microsoft and we’ve been going back and forth for days. After running countless programs and umpteen copies and pastes we discovered my BITS (Background intelligent transfer service) file was MIA. I have no idea how this happened. I always run Malwarebytes and Avast and as far as I know I haven’t been hit with any bugs. My DH noticed that the updates stopped installing after Windows loaded Defender, so maybe that did it. Who knows?

Anyway the DH decided the best course of action was to wipe the drive and start over. He did the recovery and reloaded the drivers, updates, Avast and Malwarebytes. Guess I know what I’ll be doing today - re-installing programs and all the files I saved.

Saturday, October 15, 2011

Two of my books are being released as audio books. Silent Knights and Sleepless Knights will be out in November, just before the holidays. It’s a first for me so I’m pretty excited. I love audio books. I can listen to them in the car, on the treadmill, anywhere really. And now there’s a sexy voice to go along with my drool worthy covers.Happy Listening!

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

When you think about authors of erotica, do you automatically think of female authors? My guest, Maxim Jakubowski, is here to give us the male point of view and a peek at his new release, Ekaterina and the Night.

COMMENT TO WIN!

Courtesy of Xcite Books, three lucky winners can get their hands on a copy of Ekaterina and the Night in their choice of paperback or digital format. (International entries welcome)

Simply leave a comment on this post to win. Be sure to check out the rest of the posts in the tour, because the more comments you make, the more chance you have of winning! Go here to see the blog tour schedule. http://www.writermarketing.co.uk/prpromotion/blog-tours/currently-on-tour/maxim-jakubowski/

PLEASE leave your email address in the body of the comment. No email address = no entry. Winners will be drawn and contacted on the week ending 11th November 2011.

And now, here’s Maxim…

LET'S HEAR IT FOR THE GUYS

I've always been struck by how few recognised contemporary male authors of erotica there are right now whose stories and novels appear with some degree of regularity. Think: Thomas Roche, M. Christian, Mike Kimera, Jeremy Edwards, Chris Garcia, Michael Hemmingson, Robert Buckley and myself spring to mind, and then you have to direct a microscope at all the websites publishing fiction, anthologies and ebooks to find a few more names drowning in the sea of oestrogen. OK, so Ashley Lister, Adam Neville and a few others have discreetly written under female pseudonyms and I know of a couple of other notorious female writers on my bookshelves who also happen to have the wrong genitalia in real life!. But, even accounting for the fact I'm probably ignoring a handful of worthy gents, it's a terribly meager harvest when you consider the veritable avalanche of female erotica writers at work and play today. Are we men being discriminated against? In earlier decades splendid French authors like Apollinaire, Mandiargues, Calaferte, Aragon, Bernard Noel and many others led the field in innovation and orginality (until Pauline Reage alias Dominique Aury turned the tables with STORY OF O and the field has since, even in France, been dominated by female writers). In the USA there was Henry Miller, after all. So why are we now in such a minority?

My initial thought was that our publishing scene is not only female-dominated in terms of the amount of writers busy scribbling away at words of lust, but also on the editorial front where imprints like Cleis, Ellora's Cave, Samhain, Ravenous Romance, Xcite and other leading brands are also operated/edited by women, and in addition tragically over-populated by practitioners who began their career in the romance field. But surely this is not the only reason for the scarcity of men writing erotica, is it?

For 17 years already I've been editing the Mammoth Book of Erotica series, which for the last 13 volumes has featured the best short stories published in the field during the course of the preceding calendar year and there again, my ratio of female to male author story submissions has averaged 6 or 7 to 1 - although in the final published volumes I've managed, with great difficulty, to bring this down to nearer 4 to 1. And call me prejudiced, but I have found the average quality of male submissions generally higher than female ones, but then, as the involuntary owner of a penis, I would say that, wouldn't I?

So, why are so many guys seemingly scared of writing erotica?

Like women, they have sexual urges and fantasies and experience, but somehow seldom express it in their writing or, at any rate, don't make it available for public consumption (I except gay writers of course...).

Actually I can't pretend to have an answer and would welcome your ideas and suggestions. Lack of leisure writing time? Lesser empathy?

A task unworthy of machismo? Shyness? Pride? Self-censorship?

As for me, I still write under my name, and to compound my infamy many of my stories and novels feature central female characters, and even more so, sometimes in their own voice. Bridging the great divide between the sexes is actually one of the reasons I write erotica on a regular basis. By putting myself under the skin of, or imagining female characters, my ambition is to understand the complexity of women. Madame Bovary, c'est moi!

In my new novel, EKATERINA AND THE NIGHT, a young Italian woman called Ekaterina (a Russian name, I know, but you have to read the book to get an explanation...) has her first sexual experiences and the story follows her coming of age through almost a decade through the prism of sex and emotions. This involves a Lolita-like affair with an older man, consumated and unconsumated love stories, sadness, adventures in Paris, Barcelona, New York and Venice. And then there's a secondary female character called Emma, who makes her first appearance during the Middle Ages and whose odyssey crosses centuries and intersects with Ekaterina and the main male character towards the book's ending. While Ekaterina has a definite submissive nature, Emma is a dominant force of nature. But, by examining the two women's differing attitudes to sex, I was allowed to survey my own feelings about women's sexuality and desires. And at no point did I feel this was territory forbidden to a male author, far from it.

After all, that is what we all write about: emotions, sex as catharsis or epiphany, even if scientists tell us that women and men experience orgasm in different ways. So let's have more male perspectives on what happens in the bed (or elsewhere, let's not be restrictive...) and the mind.

And before you try and call me sexist, let me reassure you that I hold many female authors on a personal pedestal and I still happily publish the better ones. Further I have even committed an anthology of French female authors under the dubious if commercial title of OOH LA LA! and am about to follow that up with an Italian equivalent titled, don't all sigh, LA DOLCE VITA!

Good erotica is good erotica, irrespective of origin. Imagination should have no gender.

*****

Ekaterina and the NightLolita meets Story of O, another memorable tale of love, sex and feelings from ‘the King of the erotic thriller’

She is a young Italian trainee journalist, who dreams of wild sexual adventures. He is the older Englishman who she believes can fulfill her fantasies. When Ekaterina is sent to interview the ageing writer Alexander in London, she is blinded by his charm and experience. Their relationship explodes in a sensual orgy, which defies society’s acceptance.

When a mysterious angel of death who calls herself Emma enters their lives, Ekaterina and Alexander know their days together are numbered.

A shocking climax set in Venice in winter brings the three protagonists together.

A tale of sex and tenderness that ranks alongside Jakubowski classic The State of Montana.

MAXIM JAKUBOWSKI worked for many years in book publishing as an editor (including titles by William Golding, Peter Ackroyd, Oliver Stone, Michael Moorcock, Peter Ustinov, Jim Thompson, David Goodis, Paul Ableman, Sophie Grigson, Marc Behm, Cornell Woolrich, etc...) and launched the Murder One Bookshop, which he owned and ran for over 20 years. He now writes, edits and translates full-time in London.

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Talented author Delaney Diamond is here today to talk about writing and share an excerpt from her newest release, The Temptation of a Good Man. Ask questions and leave comments because Delaney is giving a $10 Amazon gift card and an eBook copy of Fight for Love to one lucky commenter. Follow Delaney’s tour and increase your chances of winning. The tour dates can be found here: http://goddessfishpromotions.blogspot.com/2011/09/virtual-book-tour-dark-furture-by-kc.html

Welcome Delaney. Tell us a little about yourself.

Thank you for having me, Gale!

I was born and raised in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Since 1998, Atlanta, Georgia has been my home. I write sweet and sensual romance novels in the interracial and African-American subgenres and the Love & Romance in Color column for Night Owl Reviews Magazine. I read romance novels, mysteries, thrillers, and a fair amount of nonfiction. I wrote my first romance novel at the age of 14 and received rave reviews from my friends . I tapped out 89 pages on a typewriter and called it Captured Heart.

I’m a diehard foodie, so when my head’s not buried in a book, I’m in the kitchen trying out new recipes or dining at my favorite restaurants with friends. My other interests include holistic health, traveling, and frugal living.

When did you first realize that you wanted to be a writer, and what was it that inspired you to start writing?

I’ve always read a lot, ever since I was little. In elementary school the librarian used to set aside books for me. Yeah, we were tight like that. I wrote my first romance novel at the age of fourteen (which I only shared with my friends), and I won a few short story contests throughout high school, but I never seriously considered writing until two years ago. For some reason, a trip to Rome a few years before made me consider it. I did some freelance writing in 2008, and in 2009 I decided to give fiction writing a try. I joined the Romance Writers of America in January of 2010, and in November 2010 my debut novel, The Arrangement, was released by Amira Press.

What is the one thing you WISH you knew when you were first starting out in your writing career?

I wish I’d known the importance of building a base of readers. Writers who start blogging and building their base on Facebook and other social media sites until their books are released are ahead of the game.

What do you like to do when you are not writing?

I looooooooove to travel. If money were no object, that’s what I would spend most of my time doing. I like to learn about the customs and history of other cultures. I also enjoy cooking and like trying new recipes. I have a radio mounted in the kitchen and listen to music while I cook. It’s very relaxing.

What do you think makes a story great?

I think there are three key elements to a great story: you need interesting characters, well-defined conflict that moves the story forward, and a strong ending that leaves the reader satisfied.

The Temptation of a Good Man sizzles with sexual tension. What's more difficult, writing sexual tension or writing the actual sex scenes?

Glad to hear it! I find the actual scenes harder to write than the sexual tension. I don’t find sex scenes as difficult to write as I used to, but they are still difficult to write. There are only so many ways you can make it interesting and describe the act while making sure the scene flows smoothly and has the right amount of sexual charge you’d like your readers to feel. I enjoy reading love scenes way more than I like to write them!

Did you have the complete plot drawn out from the beginning, or did the characters take over during the writing process?

I’m more of a pantser than a plotter, so the entire plot was not drawn out from the beginning, but I did have an idea of where I wanted it to go and some of the scenes. I don’t generally start writing unless I have something in my head to work from. Once I start writing, the details start to fill in and the story moves forward. I take notes continuously as I’m writing a manuscript so I don’t forget ideas that come to me as I’m writing. I seldom leave the house without my trusty notebook because inspiration can strike at any time.

Your book has been getting great reviews! Personally, I loved it and highly recommend it. Can you give us a hint of what we can expect in future books?

I’m ecstastic that you enjoyed it. Word of mouth is the best sales tool for an author, so thank you very much!

I have a sweet romance due to be released in October from Astraea Press. Worth Waiting For is my first attempt at sweet, and it was quite a challenge to write a compelling story without the sex and references to body parts (LOL). The sexual tension and emotions of the characters become even more important in sweet stories. I think I nailed it, but I’ll see what the readers think.

The Temptation of a Good Man is the first book in the Hawthorne Family series, and Derrick’s story is next. I don’t have a title yet. Despite being adopted by his stepfather, he never quite got over not having a relationship with his biological father. When he finds out the woman he’s seeing is pregnant, he won’t let her raise his child without him–even if it means forcing her to marry him. He’s the angry, bitter brother. I’ve got just the woman to chip through his hard exterior. He won’t know what hit him!

Private Acts (tentative title) is the third book in my Hot Latin Men series. Samirah gladly accepts a position in Ecuador as a cook/housekeeper after her last relationship blows up in her face. She’s an outgoing extrovert who charms everyone she meets. Miguel Delgado is the reclusive artist who lives next door. They begin a steamy affair, but as Samirah’s assignment nears its end, they have to decide if what they feel is enough to build a lasting relationship despite their differences.

Thanks so much for being here and letting me put you on the hot seat. And now here’s an excerpt from the first book in the Hawthorne Family series.

The Temptation of a Good Man

Blurb

Can true love be found after one night of passion?

Celeste Burton goes out with her girlfriends to celebrate turning thirty and winds up spending an unforgettable night with the man of her dreams. One week later, as a favor, she attends a wedding with a friend as his date and is shocked when she sees Roarke again.

Roarke Hawthorne despises cheating. Cheating tore apart his family years ago. When the physics professor sees the woman he spent the night with show up at his sister’s wedding on the arm of his brother, he knows he should keep his distance. But because of the night they set fire to the sheets in his hotel room, he can’t resist the urge to be close to her–nor can he resist the temptation to have her back in his bed.

“What, you doubt me? Pick almost any name, and I can give you the origin and the meaning.”

“No way.”

“I’m serious. Pick one. Make it good.”

She screwed up her face into the cutest little scowl, exaggerating her efforts at concentration. “How about . . . Celeste?”

He spread his palms wide. “Come on—too easy. Give me a harder one.”

She put a hand on her hip. “You don’t know, do you?”

He cast an incredulous look in her direction, unable to believe she’d challenged him. “What? Are you questioning me, my skills, and my honesty?”

She cast her gaze upward toward the ceiling as if to think about it. “Umm . . .” Her gaze lowered again. “Yes.”

“Do you even know what your name means?”

“Of course!” Her indignation was adorable.

“All right, then. It would have been a shame for a man whose life centers around astronomy to not know this one. The name Celeste is derived from Latin. It means ‘from the heavens.’ Heavenly.” He couldn’t take his eyes off of her, and he shouldn’t have edged closer.

The smile on her face made a downward slide. Her throat muscles worked a slow swallow. “Correct,” she said.

“I know.” Roarke rested his elbow on top of the back of the sofa and let his forefinger play with a lock of her hair. She didn’t move away. The back of his hand lightly grazed more of the fine strands. With Herculean strength he resisted the urge to grab a handful. “So what do I get?” he asked.

“I don’t—I don’t know what you mean.”

“You challenged me, and I won. Don’t I get something?”

“You want a prize?”

“Yes.”

A look of uncertainty crossed her face, but after a few seconds, she offered, “How about a hug?”

“A hug is nice, but I’d rather have a kiss.” At her look of alarm, he amended his request. “On the cheek.”

Her brow furrowed in an indication of distrust. “You’re not going to do that thing where you turn at the last minute so I end up kissing you on the mouth, are you?”

Undeterred, one corner of his mouth lifted into a half smile. “Actually, they do.”

The pink tip of her tongue peeked out to moisten her lips. His mouth went dry as he watched the fleeting movement. In slow motion she leaned forward and pressed her mouth to his cheek. His jaw hardened on impact, and warmth spread along the side of his face. The light fragrance of her perfume—peaches? apricots?—invaded his nostrils and dismantled his resolve to remain impassive.

He couldn’t resist holding her in place, smashing the soft curls against the back of her head. He heard the sudden inhalation of her breath as he brushed his hair-roughened cheek against the silky-smooth softness of hers.

“That wasn’t so bad, was it?” he asked in a thick voice.

He’d tried to sound nonchalant, as if they were having a normal conversation, but there was nothing normal about his attraction to her. He dipped his head and pressed a quick kiss to the underside of her jaw. She shivered, and she reached out and sank her fingers into his upper arm. The warmth of her touch sent his heart rate escalating at a dangerous pace.

With his hand securely at the nape of her neck, his gaze locked with hers. She’d roused something in him. A powerful, consuming need that made him question the workings of his normally logical brain, now clouded in a befuddling haze of lust.

Her wild-eyed stare signaled her own confusion. “No, it wasn’t,” she whispered.

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Jerry Blavat is a legend in Philly. Known as the Geator with the Heator, and the Boss with the Hot Sauce, he's a popular and influential DJ and a familiar name in my household. Needless to say, I was excited to get a copy of his new book through the Amazon Vine Program.

His autobiography is as rocking, raunchy, and real as the Geator himself. Along with his family background, he provides an insider look at rock and roll history in Philly and he drops plenty of names along the way: Dick Clark, Berry Gordy, Sammy Davis Jr., Frank Sinatra, and Philadelphia Mafia boss Angelo Bruno, to name a few. Be forewarned, there’s also quite a bit about the Geator’s sexual exploits. But he also talks about his love and respect for wife Pattie. They’ve been married for fifty years but separated nearly thirty.

Reading his book was a real stroll down memory lane for me. Any one who grew up in Philadelphia or followed the Philly music scene will love You OnlyRock Once. I know I did. Highly recommended.

Amazon Product Description

The long-awaited autobiography of entertainment icon Jerry Blavat, You Only Rock Once is the wildly entertaining and unfiltered story of the man whose career began at the age of 13 on the TV dance show Bandstand and became a music legend. Lifelong friendships with the likes of Sammy Davis Jr. and Frank Sinatra, a controversial relationship with Philadelphia Mafia boss Angelo Bruno that resulted in a decade-long FBI investigation, and much more colors this amazing journey from the early 60s through today.

Now, some 50 years after his first radio gig, Blavat puts it all in perspective in this uniquely American tale of a “little cockroach kid” borne out of the immigrant experience who lived the American Dream.

About the Author

Jerry Blavat was one of the early rock-and-roll deejays who revolutionized the profession and invented the “Oldies” format. He had national success in the ’60s as host of the popular CBS-TV dance show The Discophonic Scene, but is best known as a high-energy oldies deejay on the air and at live events throughout the Middle Atlantic region. With a successful nightclub outside Atlantic City, NJ (Memories); regular radio shows on 88.5 FM WXPN in Philadelphia, 92.1 FM WVLT in South Jersey, and 98.3 FM WTKU in Atlantic City; and scores of sold-out live dance events every year, Blavat is as popular as ever. He lives in Philadelphia, PA. Please visit him at geator.net.

Tuesday, October 4, 2011

It’s no secret that I’m a huge fan of horror stories, so I’m excited to welcome Gordon Kessler, author of the exciting thriller, Jezebel. When a Great Dane goes on a rampage, beloved family pets start following suit. Read this story. You’ll never look at your pet in the same way.

Gordon will be giving away a $50 Amazon.com Gift Card to one randomly drawn commenter during his blog tour.

Today Gordon is talking about the books, movies, etc. that inspired him to write a horror novel.

Gordon: I’m not so much into vampires and werewolves, but I can remember one of the scariest movies I ever saw when I was a kid was “I was a Teenage Werewolf” with Michael Landon. Of course I read Cujo and I’ve read all of Dean Koontz’s novels. The first Koontz novel I read was Midnight, and from then on I was hooked. I really enjoy the supercharged suspense that Koontz is able to create. Yet Koontz isn’t all horror. He spends a lot of time to make his characters sympathetic and believable. They are multi-dimensional and you can’t help but empathize with them. I’ve also found Douglas Preston novels extremely engrossing. All three of these authors are able to keep me hooked until the last page, especially due to their characters. I don’t write a whole lot of horror, but I had so much fun writing Jezebel that I’m about to write a sequel with a couple of recurring characters—I’ll let you read Jezebel and decide which ones they might be.

Blurb

Sleep lightly tonight…

A madman has come to town seeking a diabolical revenge and large dogs begin attacking their masters for no apparent reason and with heinous results.

Animal Control Director Tony Parker must find out why and stop the murderous attacks. Meanwhile, Jezebel, a huge black Great Dane has killed her master and is loose, terrorizing the city and stalking Parker and his family. Parker and Sarah Hill, his beautiful and seductive young assistant, attempt to unravel the mystery and stop the terrible carnage while dealing with their own demons and lusty desires.

The attacks must be stopped. Jezebel must be found-and soon, you see--there is one other complication. Parker seems to have come down with an annoying little virus. No, it's not one of those irritating summer colds. It's certain death.

She's a murderess, huge and black as a hell-bound night.

Beware. Jezebel is on the loose!

Excerpt

Hill went to the front door and watched Chin’s van make a U-turn at the corner and head down the street. The headlights flashed in Hill’s face, momentarily blinding her. She winced. The light burned her already blood-shot, weary eyes.

A silent moment passed before a sound came from outside. The back yard. Scratching. Something was climbing over the fence.

The rifle. It was still next to the back door. Hill moved quickly toward the kitchen. As she made it to the hall, the dog port began to open. Hill stepped to the side, out of sight, before seeing what was coming through.

She trembled, backing up to the wall next to the large window that was painted shut. She could run for the door, but by the time she reached it, she’d be seen. No way out. Hide. Where? There was no place. Behind the sheer curtain, maybe. In the dark, she might not be seen if she was quiet and didn’t move.

She pulled the curtain around her. She could see through it, but it made the already dim room even dimmer. The blowing fan was the only noise. Nothing moved except the oscillating shadows of the fan blades beating the stale air through the room. The green flash of the clock on the CD player caused an eerie, strobing light.

A dark shape slowly emerged from the hallway and moved into the room. Large. Huge. Black.

Please check them out and give them a “thumbs up” and a nice comment, if you like them.

I hope you enjoy Jezebel, and try out Brainstorm as well as my mystery thriller Dead Reckoning. They’re all on sale for a promotional price of $.99 in every eBook format in all the most popular online book retailers.

Bio: Gordon A Kessler is a former US Marine parachutist, recon scout, and Super Squad team leader, with a bachelor's degree in creative writing. He is a Master Instructor for Johnson County Community College, National Academy of Railroad Sciences, and the BNSF Railway. He has taught novel writing for Butler County Community College, English Composition for Hutchinson Junior College and has previously indie-published the thriller novels Brainstorm and Dead Reckoning, and a book about the novel-writing craft, Novel Writing Made Simple. He is a founder and current president of the Kansas Writers Association and tries to stay connected to writers and the writing industry by doing speaking engagements at writers conferences and for writers organizations, and does his own "The Storyteller" seminar in Wichita, Lincoln (Nebraska), Kansas City, and other Midwestern cities based on his Novel Writing Made Simple book. His websites, http://www.writersmatrix.com/and http://www.indiewritersalliance/are landing pages for writers to help them in their writing endeavors.His author website ishttp://www.gordonkessler.com/